THE owners of a popular Italian restaurant who were the victims of a “devastating” burglary have praised officers after a suspect was arrested and charged within 12 hours.

Police received a report that Punto Italian Kitchen on Heaton Road, Newcastle had been burgled in the early hours of the morning of March 29.

It was reported a burglar had forced entry to the premises and helped himself to over £1,000 worth of stock and equipment as well as damaging the rear door and security shutter in the process. He has then made off from the scene.

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When staff turned up later that morning and realised what had happened, they immediately contacted police and an investigation was launched.

CCTV and forensic enquiries were swiftly carried out and at around 3pm officers arrested a 25-year-old man, who was charged with burglary two hours later and has since appeared in court.

Thanking officers for their support brothers Damiano Rea and Zeno Meynell-Rea who own Punto, and their general manager, Andrew Adams said: “We would like to thank the officers from Northumbria Police whose fast response and quick action has helped arrest a man and bring him before the courts. We are happy to assist in any way we can.

“While this sort of crime has an impact on any business or family, it is especially devastating for such a young business having only been trading for five months.

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“The team has been shaken by the crime, and it has marred what has otherwise been a week of celebration of the business reaching the number one spot on Trip Advisor for both Italian Restaurants and Pizza Restaurants in Newcastle upon Tyne, as ranked by travelers.

“The team are determined to move past this negative experience and additional security measures have been put in place to provide peace of mind for everyone in the building. Hopefully that’s Punto’s share of bad luck for 2022.”

PC Dave Hill from the Force’s Central Burglary Team said: “Any burglary can have a detrimental impact on the victim, especially one which has affected a relatively new business trying to get off the ground.

“We are thankful to Punto’s team for their cooperation with our ongoing investigation, from sharing CCTV footage with us, to being on hand to assist staff and officers at each stage.

“I would like our communities to know that we are committed to doing all we can to tackle this type of criminality and will work hard to bring offenders to justice.”

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